3 Fantasy Baskebtall Players to Avoid on 12/18/18

Collin Sexton has been struggling to produce, and he faces a stout Pacers defense on Tuesday. Who else should you stay away from in DFS?

In daily fantasy basketball, finding players you want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid.

You can find a ton of great information and research on guys you might want to include in your DFS NBA lineups, but what about guys you may want to lessen your exposure to, or even fade altogether?

Avoiding players whose matchups or situations aren't as great as they seem can often be just as important as finding the best targets. After all, it takes only one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference between winning and losing your contests. Which players should we avoid tonight?

Mason Plumlee, C, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $6,200

With Paul Millsap out for the next few weeks with a toe injury, Mason Plumlee has moved into the Denver Nuggets' starting lineup. After dropping 31.5 FanDuel points in his first start last Monday, Plumlee has disappointed his last two games. The big man has averaged just 23.1 minutes per games despite the starting role. He posted a line of 8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks for 24.4 FanDuel points, which would be good for a value of just 3.9 points per $1,000 of today's salary.

The Mavs are one of the top rebounding teams in the NBA, posting a 52.1% rebound percentage while limiting opponents to 42.3 rebounds per game, leaving Dallas in the top-three of both categories. Opposing centers have scored just 1.06 FanDuel points per minute versus the Mavericks, a bottom-10 rate in the league.

Wesley Matthews, SG, Dallas Mavericks

FanDuel Price: $5,100

Even with just four games on the schedule for Tuesday, you are going to want very little exposure to the Mavericks-Nuggets contest as it pits two top-10 defenses against each other. Both the Mavs and Nuggets rank in the top-10 in points allowed and defensive rating. With Denver favored by 5.0 points, Dallas is left with the second-lowest implied point total of the day. That leaves Wesley Matthews and his misfiring shot off our radar in DFS.

Over his last four games, Matthews is shooting just 30.8% from the field and 31.6% from three. He is averaging only 9.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists for 18.6 FanDuel points per game. Squaring off with a Denver squad that owns the best perimeter defense in the NBA -- opponents shoot a league-low 31.7% from three against the Nugs -- and one that holds shooting guards to just 0.78 FanDuel points per minute, Matthews is primed to disappoint on Tuesday.

Collin Sexton, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers

FanDuel Price: $5,000

Cavs' starting point guard Collin Sexton is an avoid as he has struggled to get much going in the last week or two and is facing perhaps the most difficult matchup of the day.

The only team with a lower implied point total than the Mavs on Tuesday is the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland is playing the league’s number-two defense -- based on defensive rating -- in the Indiana Pacers. Indy is holding foes to just a 43.8% field goal percentage, the second-lowest rate in the NBA. Point guards, specifically, are struggling against the Pacers, collecting only 0.82 FanDuel points per minute against them, the third-lowest rate in the league.

Over his last four games, Sexton has seen his playing time reduced -- down to 28.8 minutes per game in that span. He has not been effective, either, averaging 12.8 real-world points and little else per game. The Cavs' rookie has failed to surpass 20.8 FanDuel points in any game in the last week, averaging 17.4 FanDuel points a night. Even with just four games, there are plenty of more attractive options at the point on Tuesday.

Dale Redman is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.